[texhax] Lowered \hat accent

[Joel Salomon]

On 1/18/06, Uwe Lück <uwe.lueck at web.de> wrote:
> At 20:57 18.01.06, you wrote:
> > On 1/18/06, Uwe Lück <uwe.lueck at web.de> wrote:
> > > please try
> > >
> > > $\upperaccent{"5E}{\ooalign{\hidewidth\vphantom{\i}\hidewidth\cr\smash{k}}}$
> > >
> > > using Fukui Rei's exaccent.sty from CTAN.
> >
> > That's about the right idea, though the 'k' isn't italic for some reason.  I'd do the
> > necessary tweaking myself, but—where is exaccent documented?
>
> The 'k' wasn't italic because math mode is not inherited by
> boxes inside -- and just had been lazy.
> Just replace the 'k' by $k$ (or $\m at th k$. But then
> the \skew thing really becomes important.

OK, I'm trying
    $\upperaccent{"5E}{\ooalign{\hidewidth\vphantom{\i}\hidewidth\cr\smash{$k$}}}$
(which feels terribly wrong) and the 'k' is still upright

Never mind, I got it --- \upperaccent needn't be in $$;
    \upperaccent{"5E}{\ooalign{\hidewidth\vphantom{\i}\hidewidth\cr\smash{$k$}}}
works, but \skew is still needed --- but where can it go?

> I once searched for a documentation of exaccent very hard,
> without success, so I am now quite sure that there is none.

Anybody else know about this file?

> I just tried to understand the code. The optional argument
> raises the accent. The first mandatory argument is the
> accent symbol (its code with \upper...). The second one
> is the body. This seems to be everything what one must
> and can know.


> I think one \hidewidth suffices instead of two.

Experimenting shows that either one can be removed, so long as the other stays.

What it seems
    {\hidewidth\vphantom{\i}\cr\smash{$k$}}
is doing is putting a $k$ somewhere and making the rext of TeX think
it's actually an 'i' there.  Is that correct?

--Joel